Food, Drink & Shop

Visiting Swanage Railway can be a thirsty or exhausting day out... so our teams pride themselves in offering a wide range of options to suit all tastes and budgets to refresh you during your visit.

We currently have catering outlets at both Norden Park & Ride and Swanage stations, and many of our trains have on-board Buffet coaches, just listen out to the Guard’s welcome on the public address system or speak to one of our friendly staff for more details.

Our catering outlets provide a wide range of food and drink, and both are ideally located to provide excellent views of the station surroundings. You can take a seat in a heritage coach or outside on the adjacent picnic areas to enjoy your meal. Our menus include the famous Dorset cream teas, delicious locally produced ice cream, cakes and preserves, washed down by a wide range of drinks. We even have locally brewed ales and ciders, including some that are exclusively brewed for Swanage Railway. We have our own “Regulator” real ale and this is accompanied by other limited editions available at selected times through the year, but be quick as these often prove very popular!

While travelling on the train you can pick up a tea, coffee, soft drinks, real ale and locally made cake from the buffet coach within your train, sit back and enjoy watching the countryside with your family while eating the very best that the Purbecks can offer.

For a truly indulgent dining option why not try one of our meals on the train? We have a wide range of options to suit all budgets and tastes. We offer Cream Tea Specials, Sunday Luncheons, an evening Bistrotrain or our long established and highly recommended Wessex Belle offering all the charm and romance of meals on-board a heritage train. Visit the web-pages or call our Reservations Team on 01929 425800 for more details and to book your tickets.

Within all our catering we pride ourselves in sourcing the finest local fare; supporting local businesses, while offering you a real taste of the great food and drink that Purbeck and Dorset has to offer.

Souvenir Shop

Our well stocked Gift Shop at Swanage Station is open every day we are running trains and offers a wide range of souvenirs, gifts, toys and local products to suit all tastes and budgets. No visit to the railway is complete without picking up a memento of your visit, and we have something to suit all tastes, interests and budgets.

We pride ourselves in our wide selection, with quality products at all price budgets, including many items with local interest in the Purbecks and Dorset. There are also books and DVD’s about the branch and railways in Dorset. We have a wide selection of DVDs about the Swanage Railway for you to take home and see how much the volunteers have achieved restoring this unique branchline.

Where possible, we source products from local suppliers helping support the local economy and giving you exclusive and thoughtful gifts and souvenirs to take home as a memory of your visit and enjoyable time travelling back in time on the railway. We have Swanage Railway branded items, toys and games at pocket-money prices, our Swanage Railway branded clothing even including a baby-grow for baby’s first steam train ride!

We also have a small selection of model railway items, particularly focusing on models relating to the Swanage branch, and sometimes exclusive limited edition models... so be sure to check these out as they often prove popular.

Don’t forget we also offer a range of other items for that ideal gift including; the opportunity to drive a train for that special gift a loved one, dining trains for that special celebration on-board our dedicated luxury train, you can even give the gift of membership of the Swanage Railway Trust to support the work of the railway and keep updated through the Swanage Railway Magazine being sent straight to your door.

Our staff are all friendly local volunteers and have lots of ideas and local knowledge, so please do not hesitate to ask us if you need help finding that perfect gift for someone and if we haven’t got something in stock we are always happy to look at ordering this for you.